Sustainability – the next key catalyst driving additive manufacturing?

When talking about the benefits of AM, there is a fierce focus on its flexible customisation ability, or perhaps its prototyping power (both of which are undoubtedly important and impressive features that should be praised). However, there is another fundamental reason why we should be impressed with the AM industry and can expect it to have a long-standing future. This is rooted in its green(er) production technique and its eco-friendly potential.   

The environmental impact of traditional manufacturing has long been a concern, with conventional processes often being criticised for their waste generation.

Through the lens of growing efficiency, sophistication and sustainability efforts, there has been a push towards innovation. Enter additive manufacturing, a technology that builds objects layer by layer, using only the absolutely necessary materials, we can see there is an immediate reduction in excess resources used. More than just its customisation capability, AM utilises less raw material and needs less energy input to create the same products. Unlike its older counterpart it possesses a flexible nature, making it more adaptable and (importantly) better able to react to stricter environmental requirements, such as altering smaller parts rather than uprooting an entire production line to become more sustainable.    

But why is eco-friendly production becoming such a key advantage that the industry should promote as strongly as its customisation play?

The obvious and most straightforward answer is that we are becoming more environmentally conscious.

We are, more than ever, understanding our impact on the world and in turn do our best to steady our negative outputs. Mass public opinion is shifting (rightfully so) and the implications of this on companies are huge, as clients actively prioritise greener practices, even if this means paying a higher price for a product.  In short, we are demanding greener products.  

When we asked Craig Pyser, co-founder of AMufacture, if there has been a spike in stricter sustainability requirements and whether more customers are demanding greener practices, he simply stated, “yes and yes” explaining that “there is definitely a positive demand to be green, the entire supply chain is aware of the changes and this climate-conscious change is getting fed throughout the system of AM”.   This demonstrates that eco-friendly sentiment is heightening and that it will match, or even surpass the customisation USP of Additive Manufacturing as people lean towards paying extra for cleaner products.

Craig further reiterated that “as the request to be sustainable grows, we aim to be attentive to what our [customers] may require further down the line, meaning we are constantly thinking about future solutions and new workflows.”.  Amufacture already uses 75% recycled polymer in every build, with chemicals that are eco-friendly or recyclable themselves. 

This green-conscious sentiment was also relayed when we spoke to Maryam Qureshi from HP, stating that they reduced the CO2 emissions during the production of their highly used PA12 material by 49%, rolling out the new premium product for free to their customers. All these show that not only is there clear attention to implementing better practices, but crucially that the AM processes have the room to react and the potential to take on to more eco-friendly production.   

This is likely to place the AM space in a favourable position in the eyes of the public, especially compared to older, subtractive methods. As Labour vows to help and push the growth of SMEs and innovative industries, AM companies are also more likely than previous methods to be a front runner – being positioned with the potential to meet government environmental targets, such as becoming Net Zero (though unlikely by 2050). It seems that when approaching to lobby for more grants or pushing for further investment, spotlighting their sustainable feathers instead of simply voicing its personalisation capacity ought to be a stronger stance.